PCB design software for a student

[southburg]

Good day everyone! I started reading threads regarding pcb software here in edaboard and noticed that a good schematic design program is also being discussed, why is that??.. i am a bit new in pcb designing and i'm currently using PCB wizard 3.50 for my designs which i do not use its schematic design function... anyway, is there a thread on the pros and cons of pcb design softwares (the not-so-pro stuff).. i often see eagle, pads, cadence allegro, orcad and mentor expedition as the pcb softwares used by many of the users.. so i'll try those out eventually but i'd like to hear your opinions thanks

 

[sei]

when your circuit getting more complicated, the schematic will help alot. you will rely on the scematics for connections, short circuits etc. when transfer to pcb, we usually depends on the schematic nets assign wil the software, so we can concentrate more on the pcb layout and forget about the short circuits and stuff.

 

[southburg]

ohhh.. i get it now.. thanks ... hmmm, sir, if you don't mind me asking, what schematic and pcb design softwares are you using? (or you have used) thanks

 

[sei]

Altium Designer

 

[rafeeqp01]

I downloaded your non profit version of Diptrace. i have used OrCAD and PCAD before, but i found Diptrace to be more user friendly, has all the features and saves time.

Diptrace realy rocks....

If you like it please buy it.



Full Edition: **broken link removed**
Standard Edition: **broken link removed**
Lite Edition: **broken link removed**

 

[Embedded_Geek]

Some of the softwares are PCB Wizard, Diptrace, Eagle, Orcad....

The easiest one is PCB Wizard...

 

[marce]

Before you do any PCB you have to have a schematic (circuit diagram), it is what describes the circuit (in a diagramatical form). So in this day and age you use a combination of schematic and PCB software that allows a seemless transfer of the info from the schematic to the PCB. As designs become more complex (high speed etc) this close interface becomes even more important as you are not only transferring the connectivity but also constraints relating to the high speed design etc. Schematic direct to layout is the only way to do it.
Without getting into use this and this is best arguments, if you can get hold of an educational version or use a limited pin version, I would suggest using one that you are more likeley to encounter in the real world (ie work), these will be one from Mentor, Zuken, Cadence or Altium.

 

[cks3976]

I suggest you to use open source tools such as gEDA suite. They operate on Linux environment. Not only good, but also free. Not only for hobby projects, you can also try for medium complex designs

 

[PCB design]

Cadence Orcad is a good choice to begin with. Here you can do your Schematic - > Layout - > Gerber and also use Pspice for simulations.

Mentor Graphics PADS and Cadence Allegro may be used for complex and advanced designs.

Thanks!

 

[atripathi]

You can download free Lite version of OrCAD tools from **broken link removed**

 

[Gapoo]

Hi
Cadance Orcad is a very good software to make your schematics, PCBs and Gerber files. You can easily edit existing parts and cerate new parts for your schematic in capture and also in layout. Availble libraries are also very accurate and helpfull.

Thanks.
Regards.
Gapoo

 

[prabhakar06447]

i used PCB Express, Eagle, and Tina.
Tina has a good features for designing Multilayer PCB design from schematics.

 

[Fidelis Anyanti]

I have not seen a close rival to ISIS and Ares - PROTEUS